Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

DirectAdmin VS RunCloud

Compare DirectAdmin VS RunCloud and see what are their differences

DirectAdmin logo DirectAdmin

DirectAdmin is the easiest to use control panel.

RunCloud logo RunCloud

Hassle-free PHP web application & server management panel
  • DirectAdmin Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-08-06
  • RunCloud Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-07

RunCloud is a modern web server panel for cloud servers such as AWS (Amazon Web Service), Digital Ocean, Google Cloud Platform, Alibaba Cloud, and other VPS hosting. In short, RunCloud is a deployment tool for the web developer to simplify the process of configuring, setting up a cloud server and deployment of web applications. It's focused on optimization, security and user experience to enable easy, hassle-free web server management and application deployment.

RunCloud

$ Details
paid Free Trial $8.0 / Monthly (Basic Plan)
Platforms
Linux PHP

DirectAdmin features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    DirectAdmin offers a clean and straightforward interface, which makes it easy for beginners to navigate and manage their web hosting services.
  • Lightweight Performance
    The control panel is designed to be lightweight, ensuring fast performance and low resource consumption, which can be beneficial for servers with limited resources.
  • Cost-Effective
    Compared to other popular control panels like cPanel, DirectAdmin is generally more affordable, making it a cost-effective choice for both individuals and businesses.
  • Robust Security Features
    DirectAdmin includes various security features such as two-factor authentication, firewall integration, and advanced spam control, enhancing server security.
  • Multi-Level User Access
    It supports multi-level user access (Admin, Reseller, and User), providing flexibility in managing different levels of server functionalities and access rights.
  • Active Community Support
    DirectAdmin has an active user community and support forum where users can seek help and share knowledge, contributing to quicker problem resolution.

Possible disadvantages of DirectAdmin

  • Limited Features Compared to Competitors
    While it covers essential functionalities, DirectAdmin lacks some advanced features and integrations found in more comprehensive control panels like cPanel.
  • Less Frequent Updates
    Compared to some of its competitors, DirectAdmin receives updates and new feature releases at a slower pace, which might delay the introduction of new capabilities.
  • Smaller Market Share
    DirectAdmin’s smaller market presence means less widespread third-party software support and compatibility compared to more popular solutions.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While it is user-friendly for basic tasks, mastering advanced features and configurations on DirectAdmin can be challenging for some users.
  • Customization Limitations
    DirectAdmin offers fewer customization options and plugins compared to competitors, potentially limiting personalized setups and integration capabilities.

RunCloud features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    RunCloud provides a clean and intuitive interface that simplifies server management, making it accessible even to users with limited technical expertise.
  • One-Click Application Deployment
    Users can quickly deploy popular web applications like WordPress, Laravel, and others with just one click, saving significant time and effort.
  • Automated Server Configuration
    RunCloud automates various server configuration tasks such as setting up firewalls, installing PHP versions, and configuring databases, reducing the technical burden on the user.
  • Performance Optimization
    The platform includes built-in performance optimization features such as server caching, ensuring your applications run efficiently.
  • Team Collaboration Tools
    RunCloud offers tools for team collaboration, allowing multiple users to manage the same server with role-based access control.
  • Security Features
    The service includes robust security features like automated SSL certificate installation and server monitoring, enhancing the security of hosted applications.

Possible disadvantages of RunCloud

  • Cost
    RunCloud can be relatively expensive, especially for small businesses or individual developers who are on a tight budget.
  • Limited Cloud Provider Compatibility
    RunCloud supports major cloud providers but may not be compatible with all hosting services, limiting flexibility for some users.
  • Learning Curve
    While the interface is user-friendly, there can still be a learning curve for users unfamiliar with server management concepts.
  • Support Limitations
    Some users have reported that the support response time can be slow, and the available documentation may not cover all advanced use cases.
  • Feature Overlap
    Advanced users might find that some of the automated features overlap with their current workflow or custom setup, reducing the platform's overall utility.

DirectAdmin videos

DirectAdmin: Review Website Stats

RunCloud videos

RunCloud webhosting cloud-panel review

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to have multiple Wordpress Sites using RunCloud and Digital Ocean
  • Review - Cloudways vs Runcloud Review - Level Up Your Wordpress Hosting In 2020

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to DirectAdmin and RunCloud)
Hosting
50 50%
50% 50
Monitoring Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Control Panels
100 100%
0% 0
Server Management
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare DirectAdmin and RunCloud

DirectAdmin Reviews

Top 12 Best VPS Control Panels for 2025
DirectAdmin, on the other hand, is not only cheaper than cPanel, but it also boasts features that are similar to those found in cPanel. For example, DirectAdmin offers the capability to create hosting accounts through an API. It’s also easy to install, which makes it the perfect solution for those looking to save money on their hosting services.
Explore Top VestaCP Alternative: Find the Perfect Control Panel for Your Hosting Needs
DirectAdmin is an extensively adopted web hosting control panel thoughtfully designed to streamline and enhance the administration of web hosting environments and websites. With a focus on user-friendliness and efficiency, DirectAdmin offers a range of features suited for both newcomers and experienced webmasters. Catering to website owners, developers, and hosting service...
Source: cyberpanel.net
10 Best cPanel Alternatives and Competitors in 2022 and Beyond
The control panel in-built manages your site stability and recovers from crash automatically. The support is best and all your questions are answered quickly. If you think the price would be costly, then you are wrong. DirectAdmin offers flexible pricing solutions.
Source: macpost.net
The Best cPanel Alternatives In 2021
DirectAdmin is a great cPanel alternative if you’re concerned about performance and resource usage. It requires fewer resources to operate and is respectably fast.
Top 11 cPanel Alternatives to Help Manage Your Websites
You get almost all of the essential features you need for managing your servers, such as DNS administration and IP management. DirectAdmin also supports DNS clustering to help machines transfer data and includes duplicate domain protection.
Source: kinsta.com

RunCloud Reviews

10 Best cPanel Alternatives and Competitors in 2022 and Beyond
You can start the free trial with no credit card required and cancel it anytime. At RunCloud, you will find all the tools to run your website along with your team members on the side. You can give access to team members to manage your server.
Source: macpost.net
Top 8 best CyberPanel Alternatives
RunCloud is another great alternative to CyberPanel. As with CloudPages, RunCloud is a SaaS-based web hosting panel that is designed to manage PHP-based applications. For example, WordPress and similar PHP-based applications. You can easily manage your website with RunCloud without any server-level knowledge.
The Best cPanel Alternatives In 2021
RunCloud is a server control panel that focuses on PHP applications like WordPress and other CMS software. Since it’s a SaaS option, installation is very easy and hassle-free. All you need to do is make an account and run the installation script on your server through SSH. Once that is done, you’ll be able to manage settings and monitor the server status right from...
CloudStick Review: How To Host WordPress with CloudStick?
RunCloud offers a 5-day free trial to try out its powerful cloud server management control panel. With RunCloud’s simple and intuitive cloud control panel, you no longer require Linux expertise and can easily build a website on the top cloud hosting solutions. Whether you are a blogger, startup, or an enterprise, you have got the tools to run a cloud hosting effortlessly at...
12 Best Free cPanel Alternatives ✅ – Manage Your Hosting for Free
Free File ManagerRunCloud’s built-in file manager allows you to quickly access your Web Application files without needing to launch a terminal window to SSH into your servers.
Source: cloudsmatch.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, RunCloud seems to be a lot more popular than DirectAdmin. While we know about 11 links to RunCloud, we've tracked only 1 mention of DirectAdmin. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

DirectAdmin mentions (1)

  • How to Deploy Mastadon On The Threefold Decentralized Cloud
    DirectAdmin, this is really exciting opportunity this company offer full featured web hosting platforms that include the initial setup being done by them, with it being compatible with the grid we only have to teach the company how to use the grid, and it would seamless to their customers offering them the ability for a completely back end integration. You can check them out here directadmin.com. Source: over 2 years ago

RunCloud mentions (11)

  • Cloudways Asking Me for My Passport to Sign Up; Avoid Them?
    It's a server management service, they use AWS (or your host of choice) under the hood. I personally use something similar called Runcloud which I haven't had any problems with. It's a halfway house between a managed platform and your own VPS. Means you don't have to worry about security, vhosts, ssl certificates, restricting access etc... With real person support if you need it, and a tidy interface to monitor... Source: over 2 years ago
  • free-for.dev
    Runcloud.io - Server management focusing mainly on PHP projects. Free for up to 1 server. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Hosting panel for WordPress
    Maybe something more extensive than what you need, but RunCloud checks all of your boxes: runcloud.io. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Alternatives to Runcloud.io
    So after a good number of years on runcloud.io, (basic and Pro plans yes, I run multiple accounts) I am looking to see if there are alternatives to it, that may offer more features/same pricing or better pricing. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Ask HN: What should I use instead of Heroku?
    For PHP https://platform.sh has got a lot of traction, but it's notc cheap especially for small apps. If you hadn't wanted the Docker-based backing I would suggest trying one of the services that automates setting up your VMs at AWS, DigitalOcean, Linode etc like https://forge.laravel.com/, https://runcloud.io/, https://serverpilot.io/, https://www.cloudways.com/ etc. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing DirectAdmin and RunCloud, you can also consider the following products

cPanel - With its first-class support and rich feature set, cPanel & WHM has been the web hosting industry's most reliable, intuitive control panel since 1997.

Ploi.io - Stop the Hassle. Start deploi'ing. Use Ploi.io for easy site deployments. We take all the difficult work out of your hands, so you can focus on doing what you love: developing your application.

Webmin - Webmin is a web-based interface for system administration for Unix.

ServerPilot.io - Centralized hosting control panel for Wordpress and PHP web sites

Vesta Control Panel - – What I love about Vesta is that it's fast and easy to use

CentminMod - Centmin Mod is a LEMP stack shell menu based auto installer.